Thompson announces run for commissioners' president

Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009

The handful of Charles County commissioner hopefuls who've already thrown their hats into the ring have all stressed a lack of transparency and communication between government and community as something they will cure, but commissioners' president candidate Jim Thompson (R) is singing a different tune about frustration with the county seat.

"It's not a lack of communication; it's a lack of common sense. [The commissioners] are not part of the average, everyday person in the county," Thompson said. "The commissioners we have have never made hard choices. … They've said ‘yes' to everything. It's not any one individual, but collectively they've been irresponsible."

The 21-year resident of the county is hoping experience he says he has as both a strong leader and dependable team player and his claimed conscientious plans for the future of Charles County are enough to win him the prized position on the legislative board.

According to Thompson's campaign Web site www.jimhthompson.com the candidate has 40 years of management experience. Among his accomplishments, Thompson successfully replaced a manager five levels above his own status while working at the Army Air Force Exchange Service at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.

During his tenure as a Safeway clerk and manager, Thompson led several stores to first and second place for performance within the stores' respective districts and he was also a member of several transition teams for the grocer, according to the site.

"I worked within the system, but I was not afraid to question the system," Thompson wrote on his Web site. "I am always willing to use what works and not prop up failed policy of the past. I am always ready for change but not for change's sake."

If Thompson's name sounds familiar, that's because the Waldorf resident ran in the 2006 race for representation of District 3, which was won by Commissioner Reuben B. Collins II (D).

Incumbent commissioners' President F. Wayne Cooper (D) confirmed in July that he would run in 2010, but has yet to officially file with the board of elections.

While Thompson wouldn't say much about his previous run, he chastised the five winners for not taking advantage of the opportunities the office provides to do good for the community.

"Had [the 2006 board] made responsible decisions, we wouldn't be in as bad a position as we are in now."

While most would think the decision to purchase SUVs and charge the fuel bill to residents, or fund a struggling ice rink would be "no brainers," Thompson said, the commissioners "can't see these things … because they're so isolated from normal people."

Among Thompson's plans for the county — should his peers elect him to office — is addressing commuter hassles, traffic accidents, economic and residential development and taking a good hard look at the tax burden affecting residents.

Drawing on the fable of the hardworking ant and indolent grasshopper, Thompson warned that the current board of commissioners would soon feel the backlash of being too quick with a rubber stamp.

"There's been a huge tax increase in the state of Maryland and that trickles down to the counties. The commissioners are going to have to cut [taxes] with a history of never having to cut," Thompson said. "People are waking up to the fact there's not extra money to waste on things."

Similar to his 2006 campaign platform, Thompson said he is also looking at a year-round, quarter-based curriculum for the schools, which would leave graduation requirements unchanged but allow some students to accelerate their credits and give more wiggle room for the district during the operationally and financially stressful winter months.

Thompson admitted that among other things there would need to be negotiations with the teachers' union, but since the school buildings are open year-round — with both heat and air conditioning — why not teach during the summer when the risk of inclement weather is much lower and the hours of sunlight for extracurriculars are at a maximum?

"I'm thinking outside the box," Thompson said. "I don't just swallow [what I've been given] because that is the way it's always been."

A former employee at the Army Air Force Exchange Service at Fort McNair, Thompson also spent a long time serving Safeway in a number of management positions. Today he works for his family's business in Clinton, which sells dance clothes and shoes.

He has two grown children who graduated from the county's public schools.

msomers@somdnews.com